Tractor wheel



April 15, 1930. J, A, RANT 1,755,160

TRACTOR WHEEL Filed Feb. 13, 1929 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 15, 1930. J GRAINT 1,755,160

TRACTOR WHEEL Filed Feb: 15, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 gwwmtoz 1.9 3

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J. A. GRANT TRACTOR WHEEL April 15, 1930.

I SSheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb 15 1929 Patented A 15, 1930 JennieGRANTQidFgERUMAMBiIBG, new Yon]: f

TRAC TbR WHEEL Myinvention relates to'tractors and particularly to tractor wheelszjgIthas; for its object the provision of' meanswhereby the'tracr tor Wheel, regardless of the "weight lmposed 5 upon it, may ridesm'oothly and without olt- 1 'ing over smooth surfacessuch as that of a modern hard surfacedroad, an'd'ma'y have increased tractive'efiect when riding over soft earth or thelike. I attain 'Iny object' by providingfinovabl'e lugs controlled from the center or hub of the :wheeland so arranged that at all times, regardless. of the position of the lugs, the weight on the wheel is carried by the hub and therefore by theshaft orjajxle,

- j in'a-direct'radialline through the-peripheral point of contact with the supporting medium.

. In-other words, instead of providing means. ,for'transfcrring the weight from the lug to the rim, which would? produce "strain on the 2 rim even in soil,-

trans'fer the weightfrom ithe lu' directly, through'a thrust member to "the hi and so to the'sh'aft.v f i 'More specifically stated, I attain my ob ect by providing a central systemlofgears and eccentrics which move radial thrust rods or ribs in andout as they are turned, said thrust v rods carryingfat their outer endsthe lugs which are moved into and'out of operative position'through openings'in the In A order to prevent weakening of the rimsfiby [cutting away themetalin theseopenings, preferably re enforce' thesame, nja manner tobehereinafter described. I

17 My invention is disclosed in the ac 1 companying'drawings and in the detailed description hereinafter, from. which other and ancillary features: of." invention and objects will sufficiently appear.

:40 Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is-a side view of one form of wheel embodying my invention;

I} Fig. 2is a view onan enlarged scale'ofa' detail thereof; I,

. g Fig. 3.is a fragmentary vlevvonaii enlarged able upon the hub;

" g 'iplieatioliifiled February 1 3; 1929. Serial No."339,67 .9. v w 7 scale ofthe hub and one operating pinion: in the formshown in" Fig. 1; 7

Fig. 6 is a side view "of thesarne; and": Fig. 7 is a-det'ailedyiew on an enlarged s'cale'of the thrust piece on the hub of the 551.

Wheel in Figs. 4, 5 and6. I y I I In the drawings, and referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3,1-is the hub of the'wheel, 2 is the rim, and 16 are the spokes connecting the hub and rim. The'hubl consists essentially of two opposite-discs 1 and 1 with the Lcentral tube unitingthem Upon this tube and within-the hub'plates are assembled the parts which when secured together and to the hub itself,fforrn the thrust block or pinion support for the movable lugs. I 'This'block is? marked 8, an'dlis-integral with and immov- On opposite'sides'ofone face of the thrust block 3 are jjournalled the two sets of pinions 7 I --l5- 6" and 78 9. The first set 4 5-6'2.i-

are'in mesh so that theyalways turn together, and the second set V are in mesh so that they always 1 turn together. .On

the opposite face of fthe wthrusti block are otherfpinions arranged in two sets in the same manner, 'corresponding ln every rparticula'r to the pinions 4 to 9, and the corb responding pinions of'eachset'are connected f through the shafts 10 11+12 and 13-44 15, respectivelyL Thus the pinion 4, and the corresponding pinionon'the other faee of I the thrustblock 3 turn together, and so with I all the others.

In the wheel shown there are sixteen spokes I which are indicated by thenumeral 16, eight oneach side. There are twelve movable lugs,

around the rim 2, six on each side, these lugs being indicated by the numeral 17" and Working'i-nto sockets 18in the rim 2 (see Fig. 2). I

on the li'ne 5-95 50 a of Fig. 4 looking in the direction of the 1 arrows; a

Each of the lugsl? is carried on the outer end of a thrust rod 19, the inner endof which is pivoted eccentrically on one of the pinions 4c56, etc. The innerend of each thrust rod is provided with a slot to receive the pivot screw securing it to its pinion, and this.

slot permits radial play in and out of the thrust rod for a purpose to be described. Each lug 17 is formed of two pieces of steel or equivalent metal 17 and 17", the latter forming the base of a triangular figure,

whereof the apex 17 moves in and out through a correspondingly shaped opening 21 in the rim 2. The plates 17 and 17* are secured together at the points 17 by rivets or equivalent evices so as to leave a fiat base orstop for engagement withthe inner face of the 'hub when the point of the lug 17 is projected out through the rim. In order to maintain a constant fit, so that the lugs will never be loose or rattle and will always be kept up with their face plates against the 'rim,*I provide the outer end of each thrust rod 19 withad- 17 until its point 17 projects through the opening in the rim, its sidefaces 17 engage the face 21 of said tapered opening, and the projections 17 engage the inner face of the rim. Up to this point, the rod depends entirely upon the screw or stud 22 carried on; the pln'ion, for its movement. This stud however would not be sufficient to take the thrust of the lug and thrust rod in operation, that is when the wheel is rotating, and so I provide a socket piece23 on each pinion having one side out out to form a cam face with a projecting edge 2 1. This socket piece is rigidly secured tothe pinion, and'moves with it. When the pinion reaches the end of its rotational movement, the edge or shoulder 24 will come I against the side of the thrust rod 19, and the inner end of thelatter will rest in the socket formed by the cut-away portion, and radially in direct line withthe center of the pinion and the hub of the wheel. If the lug 17 has been'properly adjusted'on the end 'of-the 575. r the hub and shaft of the wheel. This is due thrust rod 19, there will then be one continuous line of thrust transmission from the point or toe 17 on a radial line straight through to to the play afforded the pin 22 in its slot in the inner end of the thrust rod 19, wer'eby the latter rests directly upon the solid abutnient'furnished by the socket piece 23. I

Turning now to the modification shown in 1 Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7, 1 is the hub, 2 is the rim, 16

are'the spokes, and 19 are the thrust rods. In this case however, instead of the inner ends of the thrust rods being pivotally secured 7 ing from thein-vention;

upon pinions, as in Figs, 1 and 3, they are pivotally secured directly to the thrust block 30 (see Figs. 5,6 and 7) ,which also carries two projecting socket pieces 31 having. asv many shoulders 32 and as many sockets 33 as there are thrust rods 19. Each thrust rod as before is provided with a slot 20, working on the stud or screw pivot 22 by which it' issecured to the main thrust block 30.

The operation of isasfollowszf Referring to Figs; 1;, 2 and 3, each set of pinions 4516 and 7 8 9 is provided with one key pinion having a stud on shaft 11 to fit 'akey whieh'may be applied thereto to each of these two forms turn that pinion and by means of its geared teeth to turn the associated pinions so that by means of their eccentricconnections they 7 will move their'thr'ust rods 19 in or out as the case may be. Itwill be recalledthateach 'of the pinions onbothfsides 'of the block 3 is keyed to its shaft, and these, shafts run through so that the corresponding pairs on opposite faces are keyedtogether. Byjturn- I, 'ing one pinion on either side therefore they can all be turned, and' all the thrust rods connected to them can be thrown in or out.

- Referring now to Figs.- 4 ,5, 6 and 7 the operation is'the same so-far as the lugs, their 'fitting, andftheir relation .to'the rim are concerned. To operate the lugs however the entire set of thrust rods are operated together by turning the main thrust block 30 on-the hub; This is accomplished in any suitable and; convenient manner as for example by means of the sprocket wheels 34 35 and chain 36.

-The sprocket *Whe'Qlf35 is rigidly connectedto a shaft 37 having one ends quaredjto receive a ported on a frame'38 secured on'the rim, for convenience of access;v The-thrust block 30 is locked when set in either position, that is with the lugs in or with thelugsout, by ,means abutment such as the rim of the wheehand engaging alternately in either one of the two notches 30 30 as shown in Figs; 4 and 6. This pawl or the equivalent is disengaged from theithrust block when the latter is to" be turned, and itwill be understood that any equivalentlocking device may be substituted for the. spring pawl shown without depart- It willbe noted that in invention, the lugsil'? project through open ings in the rim. Inasmuch asthe rims of tractor wheels as ordinarily constructed are'of metal of just sufficient, thickness to preserve their shape under. the loads to which they are subjected, the abstraction of any considerable mass of such metal by 'cuttmg openings in suitable crank or. key and the shaftiis sup such as'a spring 'pawl 30 secured, on a solid either form of my;

the rim might weaken .it'and cause buckling or the like. For this reason I provide a "re;

enforced rim 2 ,'or'the' equivalent inisepa i rate individual re-enforcing means applied around the openingslS. Inthe latter case the re-enforcing rim can be made in the shape I of a tubular socket which willguide the thrust rod if desired in its movement in and out, al-1 lowing for play. The taper of the lugitself will take careof such play and keep it always v tight when it is forced out into position.

' In throwing out the lugs the form of wheel shown in Fig. 1 may rest on one side while the lugs on the other are thrown 0ut,'and may" 7 then be turned around so that the remaining lugs may be projected, but inthe form shown in Figs. t to tooth adapted to engage thepreceding rod and disengage the first rod when the rods are turned out of radial position, whereby said teeth constitute stops for the rodsboth in the r projecting and the retracting positions,t0-

gether' with means to turn said disk and means to lock the same in either the projecting orthe retracting position.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature... i v 1 I a JOHN GRANT.

it maybe necessary to run the v wheel up on; a block beforeithe lugs, can be p projected. --1

What I' claim is; a 1-. In a traction wheel,the,combination of c a hub, a rim concentric with said hub, spokes uniting the hub and rim, openings in the rim,

thrust rods having teeth at their, outer ends,

operating means for the thrust rods com- 1 prising a disc rotatable on said hub, means pivoting the inner ends ofthe rods directly on said disc, including pin and slot connectlons, and bearlngs formed on said disc, the

bearings,rwhereby the thrustv 0f the rods is transmitted directly to the bearings,*sa id teeth adapted to be projected through said openings in the rim or retracted by rotation of said disc.

2. The traction wheel described in claim 1', with the following additional. elements: projecting teeth on the operating disc adapted a as to follow and engage the thrust rods when inner endsof the thrust rods resting on said turned into radial positions, and means to, prevent retraction of said: disc when so "turned. I i

3. The traction wheel described in claim 1, 7

having a common operating 'diskffor all the thrust rods, the inner ends of all of said rods I being pivoted on the -faces of said disk, and

central raised portions 'onthe disk having I peripheral bearing surfaces receiving the ends ofsaid rods, a tooth projecting from a central raised portion between each two rods, said tooth having one face shaped to engage one of said rods when the rod is turned into radial position and the other face of said tooth adapted to engage the preceding rod 7 and disengagethe first rod when the'rods are turned out of radial position, whereby said central raised portions on the disk having peripheral bearing surfaces receiving the ends tral raised portion betweeneach two rods, said tooth having one face shaped to. engage y of said rods, a'tooth projecting from a cen 7 one of said rods when the rod is turned intoradial position and the other face ofsaid 

